Michaelangelo’s Italian Bistro, Noblesville, Indiana

Anyone who knows me, knows that Italian food is never my first choice for dinner. I don’t dislike Italian, it’s just not one of my favorites. If I’m with someone who wants to eat Italian, I’m happy to go along, I’ll just never choose that for myself.

We were meeting a group of Geocachers for dinner last night and they had chosen Michaelangelo’s, an Italian restaurant in Noblesville for dinner. I’ve eaten there before, and as far as Italian food goes, it’s pretty darn good, so I was happy to go back.

The meal starts with unlimited salad and breadsticks, and I perused the menu, seeking something pretty basic…spaghetti, lasagna, or something like that.

Then I saw it.

Breaded pork tenderloin parmesan.

Breaded tenderloin at an Italian restaurant? Well, we ARE in Indiana. So, I decided to give it a try.

I’m going to tell you right now that I’m NOT going to rate this on my usual 0-5 bite scale, since it’s not a traditional breaded tenderloin sandwich. I’ll just give you my impressions.

First of all, Michaelango’s is owned by the parent corporation that also has Grindstone Charley’s, and if you’ve been following this blog, you know that I’ve had to absolutely stellar tenderloins at Grindstones, so I had high hopes.

I wasn’t disappointed. The tenderloin was tender and moist, and very tasty with a great ratio of meat to breading. Not too thick, not too thin, but just right. The breading itself was a bit different that the sandwich version that Charley’s serves….this breading has a few more spices, which, in this case, certainly adds to the overall taste of the meal. The marinara sauce is made fresh in house, and, although I’m not an expert on marinara sauce, I WILL say that I like this sauce quite a lot. The pasta was tasty and done perfectly. All in all, it was a very satisfying meal.

Although I’m not going to rate this in the way I normally do, I believe the test of a meal is, would I buy it again.

Absolutely, without hesitation, yes. Not only would I buy it again, I would make a special trip to Michaelangelo’s just for this.

Everything else on the menu looks good. Holly had portabella ravioli, and raved about it.

Michaelangelo’s breaded tenderloin parmesan sells for 11.95, and that includes unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks. Michaelangelo’s is located at 550 Westfield Road in Noblesville, and you can visit their website at: http://www.michaelangelosbistro.com/